Parkland Shooting

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was an avid video gamer who frequently played as much as 15 hours or more a day, his neighbors and others told investigators. Documents released by prosecutors Friday show authorities were deeply interested in Cruz’s considerable online activities. They quickly discovered group chats in which it became clear Cruz had talked about murder beforehand. “I didnt know hed do it fr,” a friend wrote on a group chat on his Instagram page, nikolasjacobcruz2018, a couple hours after Cruz killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, the school he’d once attended. That meant: “I didn’t know he’d do it for real.” Cruz told classmates, friends, family and acquaintances of his desire to kill. Some reported it, others didn’t take him seriously and said nothing. He was a special education student from his earliest years and had trouble with academics, but online, he was proficient. A detective portrayed him in one search warrant as having an “extensive network over the internet.” He had numerous social media accounts as well as financial accounts, some in his dead mother’s name. Cruz may have used his Internet skills to acquire firearms and ammunition, one search warrant says. He also had researched other mass shootings online, and posted deadly threats. He even sent himself text messages about killing people. Report: Nikolas Cruz violently threatened rival, texts and student accounts show “These various accounts have proven to hold evidence of Cruz’s obsession with guns and also his intentions to harm others with gun violence,” a detective wrote in a search warrant application for Cruz’s Google email accounts. In the aftermath of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, detectives used search warrants to seize laptops, cell phones and an iPad belonging to Cruz. They subpoenaed Instagram and Snapchat, Uber, Google and YouTube, to delve into his emails, his postings and conversations, looking for evidence that he planned the school shooting ahead of time. Cruz had dropped crumbs all across the world wide web. Executing a search warrant at the home where Cruz was living, police took iPhones, an iPod, computer hard drives, an Amazon Echo Dot voice-controlled “smart” speaker, a Samsung digital camera, USB thumb drives, desktop and laptop computer, and XBox game consoles. Cruz’s habitual video gaming and online infatuation are hinted at throughout police and school records from his childhood. His love for his XBox video game console made it a tool for discipline in the household. His mother, Lynda, took the Xbox away as a form of punishment, records say. A 2013 police report says his mother called Broward Sheriff’s Office because Cruz, who was 14 at the time, “was increasingly irate and throwing objects across the room after losing his video game privileges.” A troubled teen who lacked in social skills, Cruz took to the online world. “Nikolas spends most of his time alone playing his Xbox,” a 2014 psychiatric report about Cruz reads. “He has no friends in the neighborhood and feels rejected by his peers in school.” A male student who knew Cruz from JROTC told police that Cruz “constantly changed Instagram profiles.” In one, he held a black semi-automatic firearm with an orange tip, with his face partially covered. In another, Cruz was armed with knives and wore a bandanna around his mouth. Cruz’s brother, who identified him in surveillance video as the shooter, told authorities Nikolas also used the Instagram account nikolascruzmakarov, showing numerous pictures of assault rifles and ammunition. On that account, he discussed buying and firing assault rifles. The user name was a gun reference: a Makarov is a Russian semi-automatic pistol. Financial records show he subscribed to gun-related magazines and visited “Pro Fourth Amendment” websites, the records state. The government, under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, cannot conduct “unreasonable” searches of people or their homes without valid cause. He also was active on YouTube. Authorities found a threatening exchange with another YouTube user “Michelle Wood,” dated January 13, 2018, in which he commented about shooting someone. “Please are you one of those types of people that think you’re the only one that has a gun,” Wood replied, to which Cruz reportedly said: “Its 2018 trust me you’re not hard to find. Keep talking.” Under the YouTube account “True Crime Enthusiast” — police found several videos one specifically titled “Nikolas showing off a bullet.” Cruz had at least nine gmail addresses including crazynikolas6979 and antifakiller69, search warrants show. On a cell phone Cruz left at the crime scene, authorities found a request for an Uber driver to take him to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14. Detectives subpoenaed Cruz’s Uber account activity to find every trip he took starting Nov. 1, the day his mother died. On Feb. 14, Uber driver Laura Zecchini picked up Cruz from the Parkland home where he lived and dropped him off at Stoneman Douglas. He was carrying a rifle case, but the driver described it as a guitar case. He told her he was going to the school for a music class. The ride cost $4.53.

Book Review

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Riveting, yes it was, but pulsating and nail-biting-not so much.

Still, it's a best-seller and well I enjoyed reading it.

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Book Review

A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s 1986, Saroo, a five-year-old boy, lives with his elder brother Guddu, his mother and his younger sister in Khandwa, India. At the persistent request from his younger brother, Guddu allows saroo to tag along to work one night. But being only five he gets tired and falls asleep in a compartment of a train which in no time was in motion. This resulted in him being separated from his family. He staggers here and there, wanders the street for many days before a stranger took him to the Police.
He stumbled on one more door and that was the orphanage. In the orphanage, a few months later he meets Sue and John Brierley who are from Hobart, Tasmania. They adopt him and take him to Australia. Saroo begins to search for his family back in India on Google earth. Days pass by in his quest to reunite with his family.

This non-fiction welled up tears in my eye. It pulled strings in my heart at the distraught thought of being separated from your family and more unimaginable when you’re in the mind of five-year-old boy who is oblivious to the dark side of the real world.

Absolutely thrilled to read A long way home.

I give it a five star.


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Book Review

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

August "Auggie" Pullman is a homeschooled fifth-grader. He has a medical condition which has left his face disfigured. August has never been to school but now he is going in front of all those kids who’d be staring at him, no at his face, thinking ‘what on earth is that’. The story tackles the issue of bullying and friendship and these two points are covered in great depth through interesting characters especially Miranda, Jack, and Julian.
This book by R.J Palacio is definitely a wonder.
I give it a 5 star.


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Book Review

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Captivating, enthralling yes, though unlike the first one in the series.


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Book Review

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Four women venture inside Area X, an uninhabited zone swarming with ails all around. VanderMeer has indeed created a page-turner.

“Has there always been someone like me to bury the bodies, to have regrets, to carry on after everyone else was dead?”

Woh! This quote has depth, I believe in the sense that it alone forms a connection between the character and the reader.

A must-read for fantasy book lovers.

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Review

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I gave it a five star.

Fell in love with this beauty from the first sentence.

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What Happened Afterards

So what happened afterwards, exactly?

Guys, i'm down with FLU thus will only write half today,.

I dropped out of school while all my friends went on to do their examinations and later on degrees. For me i stayed home for two years out of contact with most of my friends. I couldn't decided what to do with my life. At times i felt all hope had been lost. I had no motivation to move forward after my US Green Card lottery was unsuccessful. In this two years i had a dream. A strange eccentric dream that changed my life.

While i'll tell you about the dream the day when my book becomes a hit until then that story is well buried in my  chest.

This Flu is killing me. ARGH!!1

Me

In my previous post i mentioned a bit about my past. Well in this post i'm going to elaborate on that. Before i could just jump in to saying, 'hey guys, i'm a writer and i got books to share with you,' i figured why not i tell a bit about myself.

My Past

I'm twenty-two currently. I know. Twenty-two and books? I love writing. It's what keeps my mind from drifting to you know 'her'. I'll fast forward to the part where i met her. It was way back in high school  in 2009. *Long time*

I was into her.I didn't like her back then. I was you know after the pretty ones. That was my first mistake. Blindness. Hope you don't repeat that mistake. If a girl hints that she likes you, bro, you can't ignore that unless you're already committed.

Two years we didn't say much to each other. But when we changed classes she came into my stream. She sat beside me. I have that memoir of a vague smile she gave me. Then a few days later she told a friend she liked me BUT I TURNED HER DOWN. If time could just go back i would change that. Everyday i wake up i just wish I could go back and take my word.

As days went by we started to talk more. Three years and we became great friends. It was in my final year when i finally started to have feelings for her. I guess i had it coming my for being such a d*(). I started off hitting on her. She'd smile. We'd joke. I'd held her hand but it was not meant to be.

I dropped out of high school about a month and a half prior to my final examination. Yehhpp i ruined it. 

What happened after that?

I'll post it up tomorrow since time's caught up with me today.

Suicide Is Not An Option

"You're ugly. "

"You're so lonely."

"You're still living in the past. I'm married now. Move on"




These are not demeaning words. These are words run from a scared mouth and they did not scare me when it was directed my way. Yes it did hurt like hell but thinking about taking my life was the last thing i would have had on my mind.

Forgive me for not discussing about how to tackle rejection. I will but i just had to talk about something that's even more important. 

What causes suicide?

Loneliness. Yup that's the biggest factor for me. Rejection, debt, break up are other factors that push one to the edge. From my personal experience trust me I've undergone this a few years back was loneliness.

To some extent it is true that we came alone in this world and are departing alone but there comes a time when we need shoulders to lean on and cry our hearts out. Fortunately for me i had my mom there when i needed someone to share my feelings. 

It may amaze you that i too saw that sharp blade of razor as an angel. There was someone who needed me here and that was my mom. It is because of  her i surpassed my gloom thoughts.

So what made me so lonely? Refer second quoted text. Yup a girl.

How do you fight suicide?

1) Talk to the person whom you trust the most. 

2) Think about the huge blow your action will give to the people who love you.

3) Read the Bible. This is rarely mentioned anywhere. It has all the solutions to your question. Go read it.

4) Go for a trip. If you can't then go for a coffee. Take your mind off things.

5) Don't and I mean Don't use social Media instead how about you go for a movie. 

6) Go to the nearest Church/Temple/Mosque and sit there. Always and always you will feel a positive vibe there. Give it a try.

No. 3 is by far the best to beat 

Within 24 hours i will retell all what had actually happened between me and the girl i loved the most though i will not mention her name because i simply don't want to ruin her happily married life.

Prodigious Authors who got rejected

Writing Books or Chasing Agents

It's no new news that only a handful of authors get things going their way the first time around. More than 98% of Authors are given a thumbs down on their first Manuscript. Most first time manuscript don't even fall under an agent's eye. 

So what can we do about this?

There are two things that can be done:

1) Keep to the Traditional way of things.

If you believe in your story then your never going to, even for a bit get a feel of quitting. Why would you. Because some agent who read the first line and based on his/her subjective thought made a conclusion that your book is no good or gave a bitter rejection which shattered your heart. Nope that's not it. You're not going to give up. You can't give up on something you believe in Goddamn it.  You gotta work your butt. Pick yourself up and write another query letter. Chances are if you keep trying you're going to score. Would we have noticed such intriguing stories from J.K Rowling and Stephen King. If you didn't know then this might interest you that both of this renowned Authors were once initially rejected. Yup among other household names. 

2) Or Self Publish your Book

There are many websites like Amazon, Smashword, Net Gallery and others that offer to have your book published. This is easy. All you gotta know is a little of formatting and designing if you plan to design your own cover. No matter the length of your book or your writing style you can be the next big sensation. 

For me with the World transforming and pacing toward even more sophistication Self publishing seems the right path to choose. 

Remember for a Writer it's not how much you make or sell it's how much you've changed the World for better with your message.

In my next post i will be talking about how to tackle rejections.

Wow it's been long since i posted something. Well not to worry my handful/few viewers. Today, sorry not today but tonight i would like to share a few things about me.

First let me say this>>Life's a B****

There i said it.

Ok so in the recent months gone by I was preoccupied with self publishing my Book--Vengeance In True Love. Prior to that i had a pretty nice make up job on my face. It was accidental; still it counted. I was on my way to work when suddenly Mr ignorant dumb kissed Driver of a PSV (BUS) rammed into our bus. Nice to say only three people were wounded in the accident out of twenty or so. Sad to say one of them was me.

Well that's gone and no i did not get a single cent for the loss of blood *Sigh*

Publishing your book.

That's a'lot of work if you know what i mean. I am still pretty new to how all this works but someday i'm going to break through and i'll definitely spill the beans if there are any.

Consider this as a stage of my life where i'm still trying to work things out. Not everyone has the same fate.

It's good to be back online after months. This is just a sample blog post i am doing. Will kick in the goodies later on...

A Deserved Win

"It always seems impossible until it's done." Nelson Mandela.

So was the story that surprised most of us rugby sevens lovers a few hours ago. I was all in the comfort of my living room watching this great game and trust me I was literally amazed. But then again the best deserved to win and that for me was Canada sevens team.

Of all odds against them, after knocking on the doors for countless years; these lads deserved a pat on their back for winning their first ever gold medal on sevens circuit in Singapore.




Up against an electrifying USA sevens side which had been creating havoc to its opponents in its path, these boys proved the odds against them and slammed their critics by going 12-0 up in under five minutes.




USA came back to level the score at 19-19 but Lucas Hammond had put the nail on the coffin and sealed the deal.

In the semis the Canada side edged past England and New Zealand in the quarterfinal respectively.